• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team
  • HI folks the server that hosts the site completely died including the Hdd's and backups.
    Luckily i create an offsite backup once a week! this has now been restored so we have lost a few days posts.
    im still fixing things at the moment so bear with me and im still working on all images 90% are fine the others im working on now
    we are now using a backup solution

Record shop favourites in birmingham

ade

ade

master brummie
I have great record collection and can remember every Friday when you got your pay packet (actual cash in a brown envelope with a long piece of white paper with your hours on it) walking up Hurst street planning which record shop you would hit first. One of my favorites was one of the first virgin record shops Branson opened which was underground, you had to go down a big escalator to get down there. We had some great shops in Brum, then stopping off for one at the pub in town before sitting on the bus reading every word on the record sleeve, happy days, music you actually had in your hand rather on a small black plastic box called a hard-drive
 
There was one on Stockland Green opposite the Plaza, upstairs above a shop. First record we bought was Save me by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich c1966. It cost 7/4d

Just remembers there was a record shop at the 65 bus terminus on Short Heath Road/Streetly Road. on the left between the chippy and the newsagents
 
The Diskery on the Bristol Rd and there was another shop in Perry Barr Precinct, but my first 45 I bought was Downtown and that was from the little record shop opposite the Crem on the Walsall Rd
 
Out in the sticks Brummy said:
The Diskery on the Bristol Rd and there was another shop in Perry Barr Precinct, but my first 45 I bought was Downtown and that was from the little record shop opposite the Crem on the Walsall Rd
Click to expand...
The diskery is recognized as the oldest record shop in England now, I spent hours in there searching for that one off disc, I'm from Great Barr and remember the one in the precinct (very small shop) the guy in there was very knowledgeable, I can't recall the one opposite the crem, what year would that have been?
 
Yes, I remember the record shop in Perry Barr precinct, it was at the base of the office block in the middle of the square.
And yes, he was a nice man, he would order records in for you if he didn't have it in stock.
 
  • Appreciate
Reactions: ade
My favourite record shop when I worked in Handsworth in the late 60's was Libbys on the Soho Road, they were great too and very knowledgeable.
They used to sell blue beat and ska records for the local West Indian community.
 
  • Appreciate
Reactions: ade
Yes Don Christie was on ladypool road, they moved to the bullring market, the west Indian guy's would spend all day there on Saturday listening and flicking through some very rare reggae albums. It was the go to place for a lot of the rare stuff
 
ade said:
I have great record collection and can remember every Friday when you got your pay packet (actual cash in a brown envelope with a long piece of white paper with your hours on it) walking up Hurst street planning which record shop you would hit first. One of my favorites was one of the first virgin record shops Branson opened which was underground, you had to go down a big escalator to get down there. We had some great shops in Brum, then stopping off for one at the pub in town before sitting on the bus reading every word on the record sleeve, happy days, music you actually had in your hand rather on a small black plastic box called a hard-drive
Click to expand...
Curious about the Virgin record shop mentioned. The first one I remember was on Corporation St up toward the university. I think they had a downstairs but no escalator. Then they moved to Bull Street - i don't remember that one but I don't think it was big enough for an escalator. Next there was the superstore back on Corporation street. That was split levels and had an escalator inside.
The only record shop I can remember that you had to use an escalator to get to was Tower who were on Corporation St at the New St end for a while and you had to go up the escalator to get in.
Since you mention Hurst St. Do you remember a shop called Inferno or Tempest? Seems one was run by the nephew of the one who ran the other. The nephew now had a record stall on the ground floor at Oasis.
 
  • Appreciate
Reactions: ade
Hi wam
I could have sworn that store had an escalator to down stairs but you may be right it may have just been a staircase, it was a great store though, always remember it been pretty dark down there, I remember one Saturday they had a power cut and no one was allowed to leave the shop until all power was restored. Inferno records I think was in dale end and tempest in bull street, another good shop for second hand was reddingtons, the one your thinking of in Hurst street I'm sure was called swordfish which was a punk/indi record shop
wam said:
Curious about the Virgin record shop mentioned. The first one I remember was on Corporation St up toward the university. I think they had a downstairs but no escalator. Then they moved to Bull Street - i don't remember that one but I don't think it was big enough for an escalator. Next there was the superstore back on Corporation street. That was split levels and had an escalator inside.
The only record shop I can remember that you had to use an escalator to get to was Tower who were on Corporation St at the New St end for a while and you had to go up the escalator to get in.
Since you mention Hurst St. Do you remember a shop called Inferno or Tempest? Seems one was run by the nephew of the one who ran the other. The nephew now had a record stall on the ground floor at Oasis.
Click to expand...
Hi wam
I could have sworn that store had an escalator to down stairs but you may be right it may have just been a staircase, it was a great store though, always remember it been pretty dark down there, I remember one Saturday they had a power cut and no one was allowed to leave the shop until all power was restored. Inferno records I think was in dale end and tempest in bull street, another good shop for second hand was reddingtons, the one your thinking of in Hurst street I'm sure was called swordfish which was a punk/indi record shop
 
Dug out a few old record bags. Swordfish used to be in Needless Alley, Inferno on Dale End. The one I've found on Hurst St was called Rockers. I have an early issue of Brum Beat 1979(?) where they made the cover story along with Inferno after having been raided by the police for selling Crass albums.
 
Hurst St was the first place for the Diskery which is still going in Bromsgove St.
Swordfish Records is also still active in Dalton St off Newton St by the crown courts.
Great little independents if you want difficult to get hold of CD or vinyl. I was in Swordfish the other week, still being run by the original guy.
Give them a visit and support your independents, its all we will have left soon.
 
Elmdon Boy said:
Hurst St was the first place for the Diskery which is still going in Bromsgove St.
Swordfish Records is also still active in Dalton St off Newton St by the crown courts.
Great little independents if you want difficult to get hold of CD or vinyl. I was in Swordfish the other week, still being run by the original guy.
Give them a visit and support your independents, its all we will have left soon.
Click to expand...
Absolutely agree one hundred percent, we need to support these shops who still provide a service in brum, they have probably survived some harsh times especially when most people started downloading music, when there gone, there gone forever and all we'll have are record fairs and that would be very sad
 
Cranes, in Old Square, was the only place in Birmingham that I bought records that was in the early 1950's. They were 78 rpm (breakable type :eek: ). They were always Classical.The Crane store was wonderful to look around, pianos (which they made as far as know) and all sorts of musical instruments and accoutrements.
 
I don`t recall the name of the shop, but back in the 50`s it had intimate booths where you could listen to your chosen music ( prefably with someone who didn`t have bo ) I bought a Paul Anka record, "Put your head on my shoulder"

You can turn it around with a smile.
 
Smudger said:
I don`t recall the name of the shop, but back in the 50`s it had intimate booths where you could listen to your chosen music ( prefably with someone who didn`t have bo ) I bought a Paul Anka record, "Put your head on my shoulder"

You can turn it around with a smile.
Click to expand...
It was bk in the 70'sand 80's
 
I remember 2 when I worked at Patrick Motors on Dawlish Road Selly Oak, I worked with a guy Adrian Stanley who would walk down to the Bristol Road on pay day at lunch time and buy a least 2 LP.s.
Then the other I walked past every day going for lunch it was at the bottom of Ryde Park Road on the Bristol Road just down from Colmers Farm School, I remember going in and buying Diamond Dogs by Bowie 1974, the woman who owned the shop was very well feed, but she new me because my mum worked in the grocery store a couple of doors down and she always came out to talk, it looks like it may be a vape shop or the Rednal Café now, and the café where I would eat lunch every day from school is now a fish bar.
What great places record shops use to be even into the 80's just as good as a book store browsing looking to find a surprise.
My record buying days came to a end in England I got to know a record producer for the beeb and he got so many records from labels sent to him he would just give me stacks of records and would say "any sound good let me know", there was a lot of junk but many good one's, all the LP's had a small gold stamped sign on the front with a rectangle boarder with the words not for sale printed in gold.
 
  • Appreciate
Reactions: ade
Robert Ensor (bob) said:
I remember 2 when I worked at Patrick Motors on Dawlish Road Selly Oak, I worked with a guy Adrian Stanley who would walk down to the Bristol Road on pay day at lunch time and buy a least 2 LP.s.
Then the other I walked past every day going for lunch it was at the bottom of Ryde Park Road on the Bristol Road just down from Colmers Farm School, I remember going in and buying Diamond Dogs by Bowie 1974, the woman who owned the shop was very well feed, but she new me because my mum worked in the grocery store a couple of doors down and she always came out to talk, it looks like it may be a vape shop or the Rednal Café now, and the café where I would eat lunch every day from school is now a fish bar.
What great places record shops use to be even into the 80's just as good as a book store browsing looking to find a surprise.
My record buying days came to a end in England I got to know a record producer for the beeb and he got so many records from labels sent to him he would just give me stacks of records and would say "any sound good let me know", there was a lot of junk but many good one's, all the LP's had a small gold stamped sign on the front with a rectangle boarder with the words not for sale printed in gold.
Click to expand...
That's a great story Bob, you must have listened to hours of music and heard some up and coming bands before most people got to hear them
 
ade said:
That's a great story Bob, you must have listened to hours of music and heard some up and coming bands before most people got to hear them
Click to expand...
Some real crackers, but for a lot of us the local record shop sold the latest release from our favorite singer or band, but this guy got all kinds of recordings, classical, humor, opera even birds chirping there was no way he could listen to them all.
 
  • Appreciate
Reactions: ade
Robert Ensor (bob) said:
all the LP's had a small gold stamped sign on the front with a rectangle boarder with the words not for sale printed in gold.
Click to expand...
Surprising how many shops actually sold those records despite the warning. I've got lots including one that still has the letter to the DJ with the band's address and another that came complete with press pack (mostly photocopied news clippings).
 
  • Appreciate
Reactions: ade
Here's a few more of the old bags. See which ones you remember. DSCN0405.JPGDSCN0406.JPGDSCN0408.JPGDSCN0410.JPGDSCN0411.JPG
The upload option said thumbnail and I did that but you can see the larger version if you just click. Some of these were chosen fo some oddity. Virgin shows their original address. Reddingtons were on Cannon St by Rackhams this time. Inferno had gotten to be a small chain listing 4 stores in very small type at the bottom including Dale End and Corporation St in Birmingham. I think Threshold were owned by a guy from the Moodys (their record label was Threshold). Franks were at the edge of the open market in one of those shops near a subway to Moor St (?) or Digbeth (?). the address was St Martin's House Parade.
I can manage a few others if there's anything particular you want to see.
 
Last edited:
Those are great Wam, I would love to see more if you have them. I bet there's not many of these around anymore, it's one thing you wouldn't think of keeping. Some years back I had 3 year's of the music paper "sounds" I think from 1980 to 83, I gave them away and have regreted it ever since, I learnt a lesson from that
 
ade said:
Those are great Wam, I would love to see more if you have them. I bet there's not many of these around anymore, it's one thing you wouldn't think of keeping. Some years back I had 3 year's of the music paper "sounds" I think from 1980 to 83, I gave them away and have regreted it ever since, I learnt a lesson from that
Click to expand...
I have a large drawer full of them. I also have most of a run of Brum Beat from issue 2 at the end of the 70s to the point they decided to start charging for it.
As I said, if there's anything particular, I can try to find it. Some of the bags can be tricky - matter of flattening them out, disengaging the flash and still get enough light. Some of them probably aren't worth photographing (Cyclops was text on white, Tower - red text on yellow and no address).
 
The lady that ran Cyclops lives not far from me with her son.
She recently had a fall at home and broke her hip I think. She had a successful operation and is currently still in hospital.
She's in her early 90s I think, I wish her a speedy recovery. I remember buying Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsies from there.
 
Elmdon Boy said:
The lady that ran Cyclops lives not far from me with her son.
She recently had a fall at home and broke her hip I think. She had a successful operation and is currently still in hospital.
She's in her early 90s I think, I wish her a speedy recovery. I remember buying Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsies from there.
Click to expand...
Amazing you can remember what record you bought where in town after all this time. I must have bought a lot of albums there but, if asked which, I could only make guesses (best guess would be some of the early Jefferson Airplane but there would have been a whole lot more). I know I got quite a few out of sales at Midland Ed. I think there were several "not for resale" copies at Second City on summer row - I have one with a press pack and another with a letter to the DJ from the band. I remember around a dozen bought at 6 for a quid at a Bull Ring event called the "Daily Necessities fair of the Peoples Republic of China" - some of them are easy to spot because they have a hole made by something like a scissor blade that goes all the way through the cover. I remember Reddingtons almost permanent "half price sale" and his stickers that were almost impossible to get off without tearing bits of the cover.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top